Here at Knewton, we know that business school applications can be a lot of work. We’re eager to do everything we can to help simplify the process. While we can’t write your personal statement (keep dreaming!), we can do some of your b-school research!
In our B-School Profiles series, we’ve compiled key deadlines, stats, and fun facts about MBA programs around the globe. We’ll be adding many more schools to the series as time goes on, so stay tuned!
Top recruiters include JP Morgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, and Deloitte Consulting LLP. Alumni include Irene Rosenfield (Kraft Foods) and Booz & Company Chairman (Joe Saddi).
We’ve been getting a lot of questions ever since our GMAT Choose Your Own Adventure video went up. Well, one question, really: How can I make one for my students?
Answer: It’s easy! Youtube has a great tool called Spotlight that lets you make any video interactive. It’s really handy for lessons and quizzes. Essentially, you can ask students a question — or a series of questions — and when they answer show them a personalized video response according to how they did.
Quizzes aren’t always the most exciting things in the world, so this adds a bit of adventure to the experience. This kind of personalization works great for our GMAT prep course, but any teacher can use the process to create a fun, interactive Youtube lesson.
In your Youtube account (they’re easy to set up if you don’t have one), take some time to check out the Spotlight tool. We found this great tutorial that walks you through the process, so you can start by watching that.
2. Add a video link
Spotlights let you create a clickable area in any part of your video that links to another video on Youtube. In our case, we first wanted to give students a choice between three questions, presented by three different teachers. Our first job, then, was to film a video that presented that choice — then annotate it so they could pick a question by clicking on the teacher of their choice.
For our first video, the Edit Annotation screen looked like this:
The box makes Jen clickable when you’re watching the video, and the link connects to a later video where she presents her question. So the next question is: What kind of quiz do you want to make?
3. Plan out your quiz experience
You can keep this pretty simple. We wanted a quiz where students could pick their question, then on each question choose the answer they thought was the best fit. If they got it right, great! If not, they’d get an explanation of where they went wrong, and a chance to click and try again.
We also threw in a “hint” box where they could get extra help, and a bonus video for each right answer. So we ended up with a video plan that looked something like this:
Each box is a short video — all we had to do was shoot them, then start linking them together!
4. Annotate away!
So, back to that first video we annotated. We put a Spotlight around Jen, so now when you get to the first video you click on her to choose a question:
For Jen’s question, we had her read through the problem, then ask students to click on the answer choice they thought was right.
To make that work, we just had to go back and add annotations to the answer choices:
That’s a few steps, but a pretty simple concept: There’s a video for each question and answer choice, so whenever you see an answer you like you can click right to it.
When you find the right answer, you get a quick explanation of why it’s correct, plus a link back to the original video so you can choose another question.
Notice the box around Jen? We also added a bonus video to each right answer just for fun. In this case, you can see Arlo’s sweet dunking skills:
And that’s it! Once you connect all your videos together, your students get a practice quiz that feels like a treasure hunt instead of just homework.
Here’s the full video if you want to check it out again:
Let us know if you have any questions or feedback, and happy Youtubing!
Once in a while, the GMAT will hurl a particularly nasty question in your direction, one that seems deliberately designed to make you feel uncertain about all of the answer choices. These sorts of questions will most likely include rare idioms, awkward phrasing, and suspicious pronouns to keep you off balance.
In these instances, sometimes your only defense is to plant your feet firmly on the ground, forget the rules, and pretend that you’re saying the sentence to your best friend. Pick whichever choice makes you feel the least ridiculous. However, this strategy should be reserved for those times when your knowledge of grammar isn’t helping much. Even if English is your second (or third) language, remember that using your ear and feeling the sentences on your tongue can still be one of your most powerful tools.
Take a look at the following question:
Students in the metropolitan school district lack math skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming ever more dependent on information-based industries.
(A) lack math skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming
(B) lack math skills to a large enough degree that they will be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy that becomes
(C) lack of math skills is so large as to be difficult to absorb them into a city’s economy that becomes
(D) are lacking so much in math skills as to be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy becoming
(E) are so lacking in math skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming
Pretty nasty, right? Reading each choice aloud helps to clear things out.
This question is testing the proper use of the idioms “such X that Y”and “so X that Y,” in which Y should be a clause. The original sentence uses the idiomatically incorrect to such a large degree as to,rather than “that.”
Choice C uses lack as a noun instead of a verb, so the noun students loses its corresponding verb. Lack as a noun would be correct if students were a possessive, but unfortunately it isn’t. Choice D’s lacking so much in math skills as to be is unidiomatic because of the awkward insertion of much. Choice B is unnecessarily wordy and convoluted. Not only do we have to a large enough degree rather than simply so, but we also have an extra relative clause, economy that becomes, rather than simply economy becoming. In the absence of concrete grammatical errors, we need to look to stylistic concerns. Here, Choice E is far better stylistically. It uses the correct idiom “so X that Y” and is clear and concise. Choice Eis correct.
Although at first glance their antecedents may seem unclear, the pronouns it and them in Choice E are not ambiguous. The pronoun it refers to the following phrase to absorb them into a city economy. What will be difficult? To absorb students into a city economy. Compare this to simple phrases such as “It is easy to bake a pie.” The pronoun “it” refers to the action “to bake pie.” What is easy? To bake a pie. The active version of this sentence is “Baking a pie is easy.”
The pronoun them can logically refer only to students, since it does not make sense to describe skills as absorbed into a city economy. It’s important to keep an eye out for pronoun errors, but don’t assume an answer choice is a weaker option just because you see pronouns.
Takeaway: Familiarity with correct idioms and proper pronoun usage will be invaluable come test day. That said, don’t forget that you can occasionally rely on your ear to steer you in the right direction.
Here’s another weekly MBA admissions tip from our friends at Clear Admit. For more advice about the b-school application process, check out their blog.
Last week we offered some advice to help applicants avoid common pitfalls in writing their essays for the Round Two deadlines. This week we’d like to offer some more advice. Although these tips might not apply to everyone or to every school, these are some good basic strategies to employ. For personalized advice about your applications, contact Clear Admit directly.
1. Think strategically when delving into anecdotes that are highly personal. While breaking up with your college sweetheart may have had some impact on who you are today, you’ll want to be careful about using personal matters as the basis for an essay. While there are certainly exceptions, we find that examples from the professional sphere or from extracurriculars typically make for stronger, and more compelling, essays, as they speak to the things that the admissions committee cares the most about, including qualities and skills that relate to professional success.
2. Keep it current. In considering which examples to explore in an application essay, one should choose college and post-college experiences to elaborate on, as these experiences will appear to have the most relevance for your application and provide the greatest insight into the person you will be on the campus of the MBA program. In other words, if your essays prominently feature stories from high school, you are likely making a strategic mistake. Younger applicants may find examples from college their strongest, as they may not have accrued the same leadership and teamwork experiences that older applicants with more work experience have. All applicants, though, should include at least one recent story in their set of essays.
3. Put yourself at the center. In talking about your future goals or in elaborating on your work experience to date, you will want to put yourself in the picture, indicating what you would like to do in the short and long term or what role you specifically played in the various projects or assignments at work. Your application essays are meant as an opportunity to provide the adcom with greater insight into your candidacy and what sort of business person you are and will be in the future. Thus, elaborating on what others have done or talking generally about the state of your industry of choice will not appear a meaningful discussion unless you can demonstrate how the material relates to you and pertains to your goals and interests.
4. Follow the guidelines. Many times applicants attempt to tweak the font size, spacing, or margins in their application essays in an attempt to stay within the various schools’ page limits. The admissions committee, however, will not be fooled. Rather than playing with the formatting, focus on making your discussion clear and concise.
Best of luck to everyone working on their R2 applications! For one-on-one advice and counseling, send your resume to info@clearadmit.com and set up a free initial chat with one of our admissions counselors.
As technology is increasingly making its way into the classroom, school administrators may be wondering how to best implement these new features in order for them to make learning not only more efficient and relevant, but also more fun. This week’s EdTech News Roundup features articles that address these concerns and offer suggestions on making today’s education reflect the 21st century.
Chris Dawson from ZDNet Education argues the point that maybe what type of technology to buy for the classroom shouldn’t matter too much, just as long as the technology improves the learning environment.
Says Arne Duncan, “Technology has yet to transform how we provide education.” Would you agree that technology is the key factor in helping improve the current education situation in America?
Thanks to winning eInstruction’s Classroom Video Makeover Contest, a Manteca, California’s Lincoln Elementary class will soon be equipped with even more technology to enhance their learning.
Finishing up your b-school applications? The posts in this week’s MBA News Roundup will answer some of the questions you may have about your candidacy at your top pick schools.
Last week, GMAC organized the “GMAT India Test Prep Summit” in Delhi that acknowledged the growing presence of GMAT takers in the country. Presentations included an in-depth look at the updated GMAT, scheduled to be introduced in June 2012. Find out more in this article on MBA Universe.
This Wall Street Journal post explains how more business school classes are preparing students for the social media components of their future careers.
A business school dean at UNC Kenan-Flagler weighs in on whether where you receive your undergraduate degree plays a factor in your business school applications.
Want an MBA from a top tier school but worried your undergraduate grades aren’t up to snuff? This UNC Kenan-Flagler dean explains the importance of compensating with strong work experience and recommendation letters.
Remember to follow KnewtonGMAT on Twitter for more b-school updates!
If you’re thinking about getting your MBA, here are 101 reasons to consider it. What are your reasons for going to business school? Let us know in the comments!
1. You want to change careers.
2. You’re gunning for a promotion.
3. You need (okay, want) a bigger paycheck.
4. You want to start your own business.
5. You want to learn from the best and the brightest.
6. You want to do good.
7. You want to find a job.
8. Your spouse will leave you if you don’t find a job.
9. Why work 9-5 when you can work 24/7?
10. It’s your only chance at ever being called “Master” [of Business Administration].
11. Checking that “graduate degree” box will do wonders for your online dating prospects.
12. You might meet your future spouse — and be able to delete your online dating profile.
13. Which would make your mother happy.
14. It’s shorter than medical school — and there’s no risk of killing someone.
15. It’s shorter than law school — and there are fewer jokes about MBAs than lawyers.
16. It’s shorter than a PhD. program — and you don’t have to wear Tevas.
17. It’s a good excuse for an anemic social life.
18. It might help you find a better social life.
19. You can reframe all your problems and character flaws as “improvement opportunities.”
20. You’ll learn to juggle. Metaphorically speaking.
21. Grad-school chic is so in this season.
22. Sleep deprivation can be an interesting social experiment.
23. You’ll learn exactly how many drinks are too many drinks at professional networking events — the hard way.
24. You’ll learn exactly how few drinks are too few drinks at professional networking events — the boring way.
25. But seriously — there will be a lot of chances to network.
26. You’ll have lots of new things to talk about at cocktail parties…
27. …of which you’ll be invited to many — thanks to all that networking!
28. Core curriculum: statistics, marketing, finance, financial reporting, operational management and organizational behavior, oh my!
29. You could become an astronaut.
34. Just do it.
35. You’ll learn How to Win Friends and Influence People — without having to read the book.
36. You can get another chance at being a summer intern, this time without having to make coffee for anyone.
37. Your reading list will grow right before your eyes. (Hello, case studies.)
38. You can finally avenge that sub-par SAT score by rocking the GMAT.
39. If you’re too risk-averse, you’ll learn to get over it. (In other words, just ask him out already.)
40. If you’re not risk-averse enough, you’ll get over that too.
41. Turns out there aren’t a whole lot of jobs for that B.A. in Slavic Studies.
42. Figure out how to prioritize, all over again. Maybe you can party ‘til 4 a.m., finish your reading, and get to class by 9 — or maybe you can’t.
43. You can use b-school as an excuse to quit your lame job.
44. You can use b-school to make your lame job less lame.
45. You want to make $100,000 right out of school.
46. You want to spend $100,000 really, really quickly (a few student loans don’t scare you!).
47. You’ll learn how to be resourceful and creative.
48. Going to be school is a great reason to move to a better climate.
49. Or be be near more colorful foliage.
50. Or live in a morevibrantcity.
51. Or experience the foreign land of your choice!
52. B-school is like college, part II (only with more homework, bigger consequences, and worse hangovers, since you’re not 21 anymore).
53. You’ll learn a new language — it’s called “jargon.”
54. You can use aforementioned jargon to impress and/or alienate friends, family and acquaintances.
55. You’ll become a master of the delicate art of the elevator pitch.
56. You’ll get another diploma to hang on the wall!
57. You can learn when the newspaper is lying to you. Thank you, Statistics 101.
58. You don’t really know how to collaborate until you’ve worked with a team of Type A business school students.
59. “Boredom” will no longer be a part of your vocabulary.
60. You’ll discover a newfound appreciation for caffeine.
61. You’ll gain confidence in your abilities.
62. Think of how fancy your 20-year reunions will be. Fat cats of the world unite!
63. Think of how fancy you will be. (Fingers crossed!)
64. M.B.A. will look great on your resume.
65. Maybe the economy will have rebounded by the time you get out.
66. B-school campuses are so picturesque!
67. You’ll learn how teams work best together.
68. You’ll boost your leadership skills.
69. You’ll become over-qualified for all those jobs you didn’t want to do anyway. Goodbye, deep-fryer. Goodbye forever.
70. It will keep your mind sharp — without having to do Sudoku.
71. You’ll feel special when people use adjectives like “driven” and “goal-oriented” to describe you.
72. You can (hopefully) learn how to balance your personal and professional lives.
73. You’ll ensure your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s parents think of you as “marriage material.”
74. Former classmates will be impressed at your high school reunion.
75. It will give your parents something to brag about.
76. Someday, you can walk around with a Bluetooth in your ear, babbling to yourself — and no one will think you’re a crazy person.
77. Lost? An MBA program might help you find your passion.
78. You’ll learn a ton from your professors.
79. And a ton from your classmates.
80. And a ton about yourself.
81. You’ll get an amazing challenge.
82. You’ll find all kinds fun things to do while you’re procrastinating during finals.
83. You’ll meet people from all over the world.
84. You’ll learn how to recover from failure.
85. You can help change the world.
86. You can take a two-year break from the world.
87. You’ll eat plenty of free food (hello, recruiting parties).
88. And learn industry-specific best practices.
89. One (hyphenated) word: value-add.
90. You’ll gain a deep appreciation for sleep.
91. You’ll get better job security upon graduation.
92. You’ll have an excuse to buy super-stylish business apparel.
93. “Labor is a pleasure in itself.” — Marcus Manilius
94. You’ll increase your earning potential.
95. You’ll learn how to leverage… everything.
96. Student discounts!
97. A little competition will make you feel alive.
98. A lot of competition will take you even further.
99. It’s one more opportunity to wear that funny hat!
100. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.
101. No seriously, it’ll be awesome.
So many great reasons! And getting to take Knewton’s GMAT prep course isn’t even on there. What else you got people? Let’s keep this list going!
Here at Knewton, we know that business school applications can be a lot of work. We’re eager to do everything we can to help simplify the process. While we can’t write your personal statement (keep dreaming!), we can do some of your b-school research!
In our B-School Profiles series, we’ve compiled key deadlines, stats, and fun facts about MBA programs around the globe. We’ll be adding many more schools to the series as time goes on, so stay tuned!
November 3, 2010
January 12, 2011
March 9, 2011
April 27, 2011
Who gets in
Mean GMAT: 643
Median GMAT: 640
Acceptance Rate: 35%
Mean Age of Entering Class: 27
How it compares
Ranking: #12 (Businessweek), #49 (U.S News)
The Cox School is one of eight programs (the others being Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, UCLA Anderson School of Management, University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, NYU Stern School of Business, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the MIT Sloan School of Management) to rank in the top 30 for research achievement in marketing, strategy, finance, economics, and information systems.
Check out his keynote address to learn about the difference between bankers and start-up enthusiasts, reasons someone should (or shouldn’t) be an entrepreneur, Reid Hoffman’s swearing, and a whole lot more.
This resume tip comes to us from Igor Khayet, founder of My Resume Shop.
As a professional resume writer, one of the most common questions I get asked is how to shorten a resume to one page without losing critical information. This question does not only come from experienced professionals (who have to fit a lot of work experience in a short space), but also from students and young professionals.
The following is an easy to follow list that will help you save space on your resume and focus on the most important accomplishments. Tip number one is below; stay tuned for the rest of the series.
Tip #1: Decrease the Number of Sections
I have seen resumes with 10 or more sections, which takes away the entire purpose of a section heading.
The idea is to make your resume easy to follow and organized, not overwhelmingly subdivided. Volunteer Work, Computer Skills, Honors/Awards, Interests can be condensed into one section heading: “Additional Information and Skills”.
Don’t get too carried away though: your choice of which sections to use should correspond to the intended goal of the resume. A Graduate School or PhD candidate may have a separate section for “Publications” or “Presentations,” while a Computer Programmer may have a special section for “Computer Languages/Programs.” Use common sense to make these judgments depending on what is more relevant to the graduate school program you are applying for.
Below, you can see how rearranging the sections on a resume can save valuable space. Secondary information — like volunteer experience, computer skills, and languages — can be consolidated into a single line instead of a longer bulleted list.
Igor Khayet is the President and Founder of My Resume Shop (www.myresumeshop.com). He is a former Admissions Interviewer for the Yale School of Management and a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches. Connect with him on Facebook (www.facebook.com/myresumeshop) and Twitter (twitter.com/myresumeshop).
